Stars Over Texas
by Memory Untainted
Summary: When you love someone, you'll do anything for them... even keep secrets from them so they won't be hurt. But can 1 secret tear a boy's world--and heart--apart?
1. Chapter 1

This is just a little something I thought of when I was listening to Tracy Lawrence one morning on the bus ride to school. Yes, I listen to country music. You know why? Because country music rocks like that! Yeah! Thank The Bonnie Pirate Lass for inspiring this idea. She rocks like that too. Oh, and thank the little demon of heartache for making me listen to sad songs about love and whatnot. And thank S.E.Hinton for writing The Outsiders. Here's what I have to say about The Outsiders: "WRITTEN BY GOD HIMSELF AND HANDED DOWN TO THE BEST AUTHOR IN THE WORLD-- S.E.HINTON!" That was originally said by Jay from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but I just reworded it. Hope everyone likes this!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of "Stars Over Texas" by Tracy Lawrence. I also do not own anyone from The Outsiders. -tear-

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Chapter 1

As you lie in my arms   
Girl my hearts on my sleeve   
Words come so hard, in moments like these   
theres feelings I have, that are so hard to show   
But right now theres one thing   
I want you to know

Soda looked down at the sleeping blonde girl in his arms. She was so angelic, so fraglie-looking as she dreamed and smiled. _'So perfect,'_ he thought to himself. He must have done something really good to deserve her...

China-blue eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. So many things he wanted to say to her and they were all lost to him. All he could think about was those eyes of her's. Sandy snuggled closer to him, shivering slightly in the cold night air. Neither of them were paying attention to the movie. They were curled together in the back of Steve's car that Soda had borrowed while Steve was out of town at his couin's.

Two years had passed quickly since they first started seeing one another. Time seemed to just fly by when they were together. Days, hours, minutes, none of them mattered to Sodapop.

"Sandy," he said softly.

"Hmm?"

"I love you..."

She looked up at him, blushing. Those blue eyes searched Soda's for the truth in his words. She soon believed him. Why should she not? He was being honest with her. He had never felt for any other girl what he felt for Sandy. Ever.

"I love you too, Sodapop Curtis!" And with that said, she kissed him to prove it.

Never had any words had that effect on him. Soda stood on the trunk of the T-Bird and with a war-whoop, did a backflip off onto the hard pavement. He didn't even feel when he fell down. The greaser boy was on Cloud Nine, and Sandy was his hostess. It didn't even matter that her parents hated him and despised her seeing him. Or that she was so shy and skiddish sometimes. None of it mattered. All that matter was one boy, one girl and their joined hearts.

Her soft laughter was music to his ears. The ushers looked at him as if they would kick him out anytime soon, but he paid them no mind. They didn't know what it was like loving the most beautiful girl on the Earth and having her return that love.

"Soda, get back in the car," she giggled. "They're going to kick you out."

"Let them kick me out! I don't care!"

With that said, Soda jumped on the hood of the car. He cupped his hands over his mouth and sucked in a deep breath. Sandy tugged on his pant leg, trying to get him to come down, but it was fruitless. Soda breathed deeper, then yelled at the top of his voice, "MY NAME IS SODAPOP CURTIS, AND I LOVE SANDY LAWRENCE!" The blushed that creeped over Sandy's face could turn a sun-ripened strawberry green with envy.

"NO ONE CARES," someone shouted back.

"OH YEAH?!," Soda screamed. "NO ONE ASKED IF YOU DID!"

"YOU ARE SUCH A QUEER, CURTIS," a greaser yelled to him, laughing.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT YOUR MOTHER WAS SAYING LAST WEEK!"

The greaser in the car started Soda's way and he knew he was in trouble. It was Curly Shepard. Usually the kid was all mouth, but Soda had went to far; he had insulted Curly's momma. When someone went that far, Curly backed up everything he said.

An usher came through with two policemen following close behind. Soda was dragged from the car and slapped in handcuffs.

"SODA!" Sandy yelled.

"Its all right, baby!"

"It is not all right!!"

Soda broke away from the officers, and began running around, hands cuffed behind his back, Curly chasing in a likewise fashion and the officers and usher chasing them both.

The young greaser ran as fast as he could. A fence was his only hope of escape. It wasn't all that high. He could probably have jumped it. So he tired. He jumped as high as he could, but it was useless. There was nothing he could do without the use of his hands. The officers finally caught him as he fell on his backside from his failed attempt to jump the fence.

By now, four other officers were on the scene. Soda was picked up by four of them, two holding his arms and two holding each of his legs, and put in the back of the police car. The two remaining officers put Curly into the other side of the car. Soda leaned out the window to look at Sandy who had come running up.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, baby," he said with a grin.

"Soda, you are a loon."

"I know, but you love me, right?"

"Yes..." And she did. So he didn't even mind when they hauled him into the station and forced him to spend two nights there in a cell. Darry wasn't too happy when he had to come bail him out. But because it was Sodapop, he didn't mind. Everyone loved Sodapop.

E N D O F C H A P T E R 1


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2-

As long as the tides ebb   
The earth turns the sun sets   
I promise I'll always be true   
And as long as theres Stars over Texas   
Darling I'll hang the moon for you

Sandy didn't come to see him that evening, or the following two nights. Soda pined restlessly for her. Was she all right? Did she not want to speak to him anymore after what happened? Curly Shepard sure didn't. He hadn't meant to insult his mother, though.

At Sandy's house, things weren't always the perfect picture they seemed to be. When company was over, everything was perfect. They were like the real live version of the Cleavers, what with Sandy's dad working at the office, her mom being the typcial house wife, her younger brother Mikey making decent grades, and her being a beautiful teenage girl. But when company left and the doors were closed, things changed. Her father was a drunk who liked to abuse her. Her mother locked herself in her room and cried all of the time. Her brother was never home, running around with some gang or the other. That little 12-year-old boy would be in trouble one day.

Sandy sat in her room, crying. The whole left side of her body was a blue and purple mess. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to do anything but just lay there on her back, staring at the ceiling. Vaguely, she wondered where her dad had gotten that baseball bat from.

"At least things can't get any worse," she mummbled to herself.

_Tick... Tick... Tick..._

She looked over to her window. In the fading afternoon light, she could see little pebbles hitting the glass. The young blonde pulled herself out of bed painfully and limped over to the window. When she opened it and looked down, she saw Soda standing there, beaming up at her.

"Soda," she sighed, smiling. He was the one thing that kept her going when she thought of killing herself.

"Hey, baby! Come down?"

"I can't, Soda... My dad grounded me..." That was a lie, but she knew he wouldn't let her out of the house anyway. He hated Soda.

"Please? I'll have you back before he knows you're gone. Promise!"

She shook her head. Soda could always make her do anything. She was putty in his hands. Carefully, she climbed down the gutters and stood beside Soda. He swept her up in his arms, kissing all over her face. Sandy tried not to wince as his arms touched her side, squeezing her.

"Ready?"

"Where are we going?"

"Dance contest at the Dingo."

The smile on Soda's face was completely wild. Soda loved to dance. That was one of his favorite things ever. He led her back to the car he borrowed from Steve once again, speeding away to the Dingo.

They danced the night away. Her side kept bothering her now and then, but she tried not to let her pain show. For Soda. She knew what would happen if she did. He would worry himself sick. She could never do that to him. Not for anything in the world. He meant everything to her.

She climbed back up the gutters and in her window. Soda blew a kiss up to her, then left. She laid back down on her bed, missing him already. Why couldn't she be together with him always? Her door slammed open. Oh, yeah, that was why.

Her father stood there, drunk and angry. He knew. He knew that she snuck out with Soda. The look on his face told her that he knew.

"Where were you?!"

"Daddy, I was--"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your lies!"

The large man advanced on her. She tried to explain herself, but to no avail. He just kept coming despite her pleas. A swift backhand to the cheek knocked her down on the floor. She couldn't keep the tears from coming.

"I know what you're doing with that boy!"

"Daddy, I'm not doing anything!!!"

"LIAR!"

He lifted her up from the floor and after a few shakes and a slap here and there, he threw her down on her bed. Then he did something awful. Something she had never thought he would do. Her own father raped her. She had never allowed anyone, even Soda, touch her like that, but he did.

She had been able to handle the bruises and the beatings and the harsh words. But as she lay there later, crying on her bed, she felt like utter trash. How could anyone ever look at her the same? They would know for sure.

Somehow, she limped to the shower and got in. She had never felt so dirty in her entire life. The skin on her arms was scrubbed bloody. When she was done, she put her clothes in the garbage can, poured gasoline over them, and set fire to them. Sandy watched the flames dance for the longest time, thinking somewhere in the back of her mind that maybe she should be joining them in those flames.

Her father had passed out in his armchair in front of the tv. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. As quietly as she could, she went back to her room after putting out the fire, and crawled back in bed.

Soda came by two days later, a Tuesday afternoon. Her parents were out at a business function, one that Sandy had been too "sick" to attend. It was on rare occasions such as these that Soda was allowed in her house. He absolutely loved her house. It was so neat and tidy and everything was just perfect. Yes, perfect...

They sat on the couch, Sandy looking down at her hands. She had put on enough make up to hide the facial bruises from Soda. Even though it was the dead of summer, she was wearing a heavy sweater and a long skirt. Soda didn't say anything. He thought that maybe it was just because of her cold. Or perhaps he just wanted to see it that way.

"Can you come out later," he asked, breaking the long silence.

"No, I don't think so..."

"Oh... okay..."

More silence.

"Sandy?"

"Yes, Soda?"

He put a finger under her chin, gently making her look at him. All of the love she had for him was clearly reflected in his eyes. She was about to cry, she knew it.

"Sandy, I love you... I really do... And I would never do anything to hurt you... You believe me, don't you?"

"Yes, Soda..."

"As long as there's stars over Texas, Sandy, I'll hang the moon for you..."

That elicted a small smile from her. To Soda, that was the greatest reward. Nothing could ever make him more happy than that small token of her appreciation.__


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 -

I know I have stumbled and caused you some tears   
When you needed me most I haven't always been there   
I know I'm not always the man I should be   
But don't ever wonder what you mean to me

Two months later, and the abuse hadn't stopped. She didn't know what foolish part of her had thought it would. What use was it to lie to herself? She never believed a word of it...

Things hadn't changed much for Sandy. Her father continued the raping, her mother refused to hear it through her depression-induced slumbers, and her brother was out more than ever. The only thing that changed was that now she had a child growing inside of her, a child not fathered by Soda, but by her own father. The thought nearly made her sick. How could she tell Soda? Or anyone, for that matter? Would anyone believe her? It was doubtful...

Sandy lay on her back in her bed, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts on death. Oh, how she longed to die nowadays. Soda was her only reason for living anymore. She didn't deserve him... Not at all... He was too good, too wonderful... Too golden...

A loud knock sounded at the front door. Her father, the only one in the living room, answered it with a beer in his hand. Her bedroom door was open slightly, so she could see the police man at the door. His low voice carried to her ears. Was this about Soda? Were they coming to take her father away? She didn't have the strength to get out of bed.

"I'm sorry, sir," she heard the officer say. "There was nothing we could do... Your son was involved in a gang shoot-out... He died on the way to the hospital..."

Mikey was dead? Her brother? The only one she could have ever thought about talking to in this hellhole of a house? This was just too much... She started crying then, crying for herself, for the baby who would be born into a rotten life, for her mother who didn't know what was going on around her, for her brother who now lay dead on the cold operating table, and finally for Soda who never deserved any of this. He didn't deserve the troubles she would give him. Never. She couldn't do that to him.

Her father came in and beat her. He blamed her for Mikey's death. Mikey had always been his favorite. It was her fault that she wasn't a boy, that cruel little part of herself told her. All her fault. If she had been a boy, none of this would have ever happened. She should have never been born at all. Things would have been so much better for everyone if she had never, ever been born.

Soda sat staring up at his ceiling, thinking. Sandy had been so jumpy lately when they were together. What was wrong with her? He just couldn't put his finger on it. But he knew one thing: Whenever he could get enough money saved up, he was going to get her a ring and he was going to take her away from all of this Greaser against Soc jazz.

He smiled at that thought. Him and Sandy, married. Maybe a few kids, a dog, a white picket fence on the front lawn of a country house. Yes, it would be perfect. Simply perfect. Then Ponyboy and Darry could come visit every now and then. Everything would be wonderful.

"Soda," Darry shouted from the living room. "Phone!"

Soda ran to the living room and took the phone from Darry.

"Hello, Sodapop Curtis here!"

"Soda...?"

Sandy's voice was so weak on the other line that Soda was immedately sobered.

"What's wrong, Sandy? Are you hurt? What happened? Have you been crying?"

"Soda, I need you... please..."

"I'll be right over."

The line went dead. Soda looked at the phone for a moment. Then he simply dropped it and ran out the door, not bothering with shoes or a car or even telling Darry where he was going. Sandy was his main priority.

When he got to her house, he climbed up the gutters and through her window. She was huddled in a corner, crying, shaking like a leaf in the wind. He felt his heart catch at the sight of her like that.

"Sandy..."

For a moment, she looked up at him, fear etched clearly in her eyes. She didn't know him. Then recognition set in and she ran as well as she could over to him. He hugged her tight to her chest, rocking back and forth with her, whispering words of comfort to her. She spilled her story of Mikey's death to him, crying all the while. The tears just wouldn't stop now that they had started. All Soda could do was hold her close and try to comfort her, crying right along with her.

She finally finished crying. Soda was sitting there still, holding her close. She looked up at him with red eyes.

"Sandy, I love you..."

"I love you too, Soda..."

"Listen to me, babycakes... I'm never gonna let you down... Promise... I know I may have screwed up in the past, but I'll never make you cry again, I swear it... You mean the world to me, baby, and I'm gonna prove it to you... I am... As soon as I get the money, I'm gonna get a ring and ask you to marry me..."

"I'll say yes," she said on a smile.

"All right." He kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna go, baby. But I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay, Soda."

He kissed her forehead again and left. He walked home with his hands in his pockets, reflecting on everything that had happened recently. Ponyboy and Johnny had ran away, that soc got stabbed, and now Sandy's brother was dead... This was all getting to be quite much... But at least he had Sandy to count on through this...

Sandy was sitting at her window, looking out the way Soda just went. She heard the door creep open and she prayed that her father would just leave and not come back... Why couldn't he just go...

"You had that boy here again... Didn't you..."

She didn't answer him.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you, girl!"

No answer.

"You're getting to be just like your mother..."

The door slammed shut behind him as he left. Her mother... That was it! Struck by a seemingly great idea, Sandy crept down the hallway to her mother's room. She pushed the door open.

Her mother was sitting at her vanity, brushing her soft blonde hair. Frida Lawrence was the spitting image of her young daughter, right down to the china blue eyes. She didn't even look up as Sandy came in.

"Momma...?"

No answer from the woman at the mirror.

"Momma, I have something to tell you..."

Her mother looked up at her. The serious tone in the teenager's voice had caught her attention. This was something of an accomplishment since no one ever really got through to Frida these days. Sandy took a deep breath and pulled up all of her courage then continued.

"I'm pregnant, Momma..."

"It's that boy's, isn't it...? That one your father caught you fooling around with..."

"No, Momma, I never did anything with Soda. It was--"

"Don't lie to me, Sandy." Frida turned to look at her daughter. "That is it. You're leaving. Pack your things. You're going to stay with your grandparents!"

Sandy broke down then and there. She begged, pleaded, demanded, screamed, cried, whined, wailed, anything she could think of to get her mother to change her mind, take back those awful words. But Frida was determined in her decision. No, she wouldn't change her mind.

With a heavy heart, Sandy went back to her room and packed. She would never see Soda again... She knew that now... Never, ever again...


End file.
